Stakeholder participation
Beneficiary, consumer, citizen: perspectives on participation for poverty reduction
Participation as a basic human right: building the individual’s capacity to access that right
Authors:
A. Cornwall
Publisher:
Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency , 2000
Published by Sida, this book traces the evolution of the concept of “participation” in the development discourse since its emergence in the late 1970s. It addresses the new challenges presented by an ever-changing understanding of what participation means, and warns of the dangers of embracing the concept without questioning the deeper implications of participation in practice. The author argues for greater clarity as to who participates and how before putting faith into “more” participation.
The book begins by (1) dealing with the principles of self-determination as the rationale behind the participation paradigm in the late 1970s. During the 1980s (2) beneficiaries came to be seen as active consumers, and there was a further shift (3) in the 1990s when certain areas of policy-making were opened up to “stakeholders”. Questions were, however, raised (4) regarding the exclusion of certain groups in participatory processes. Participation is now increasingly seen (5) as a basic human right, and the need to increase the capacity of individuals to explore this right is beginning to be realised (6).
The document explores how, since its first appearance, the concept of participation in development has rallied more and more supporters and is now firmly entrenched in the development discourse. There can, however, be many shortcomings to participatory processes. The author argues that:
- without deep scrutiny, “participatory” methods might in fact be used for the promotion of other hidden agendas
- more attention has to be paid to the differentiation of interests within a given community, and even participatory appraisals can hide dissent
- participation can indeed be challenged by deep-rooted inequities and biases, and to address these could threaten the basic institutions of a given community and risk undermining social cohesion
- embracing participation therefore raises deeper issues of who participates, where, and in what way.
If participation is increasingly being seen as a basic human right, it raises new challenges for the future:
- There should be a clear assessment of what kind and how much participation is actually feasible for those who struggle for survival on a daily basis. Rather than “full participation”, there is a case for “optimum participation”.
- Participation has to be made more accessible through the dissemination of information, the development of monitoring processes and an increase in accountability mechanisms.
- Generalities about participation need to be set aside in order to get a clearer picture of what works where, when and for whom.
- To invite people to participate is not enough. More efforts should be made to enable people to develop their willingness and capacity to take part.
